Caine condemns his country as 'a nation of losers'

Sir Michael Caine has launched a stinging attack on Britain, branding it a nation of losers who hated him because of his success.

The 69-year-old double Oscar winner said his fellow countrymen particularly resented Britons who made good in the U.S.

It was the second time in two years that Sir Michael, whose most famous films include Alfie, The Italian Job and Zulu, has attacked his native country.

He told the New York Times: 'We lose everything. We lost the World Cup. We lost Wimbledon. But we do it with grace and style because we're accustomed to it.

'They don't like success. They especially hate it if you're successful in America. But that's OK. I'd rather have them hate me than fail.'

Surprisingly, the actor also admitted that his recent move back to the UK from Hollywood was because he was homesick.

In June 2000 Sir Michael caused uproar with a vitriolic speech as he was awarded a fellowship by the British Academy. He astonished everyone at the London ceremony by claiming he had been left out in the cold throughout his career and blaming British snobbery.

'All the way through I have felt a bit of the outsider, as though I was just trying to make something of myself, with very little help,' he said.

His latest outburst also attacked Hollywood itself. Sir Michael, who lived in Los Angeles for eight years, said: 'It was fun but now everything is too big, especially the parties. I won't go to a party unless there is a chair with my name on it.'

The actor, whose homecooked Sunday roast lunches were famous among other expatriates, went on: 'I like a proper dinner. Who wants to lean on the end of a buffet trying to eat custard with a fork? That's what most Hollywood parties are like.'

Describing himself as a gardener and a cook, he told the New York. paper: 'I got homesick. I missed the country'.

Despite his attacks on Britain, Sir Michael admitted that he regarded his knighthood two years ago as 'the greatest honour I've ever had, or am likely to have, in my life'.

William Hall, author of a best-selling biography of Sir Michael, said last night: 'It's a shame he has been persuaded to talk in this way again.

'You would think that having got a knighthood he would be smiling for the rest of his days. I ' m astonished and saddened.'